Three years ago, off the back of a bad relationship, I needed out of Southern California and decided to move to London for six months. I was looking forward to being single for the first time in five years and was relishing the chance to dance, date and drink in a massive, heaving city. I would kick up my heels in swanky clubs, live in a Tudor cottage and date a man who wore a bowler hat and carried an umbrella.

Three weeks later, I opened the front door to find my roommate’s brother, Mark, standing there with a bag in one hand, a bicycle in the other. He had just left his wife and three children and needed a place to stay.

Over the course of my life so far, I’ve lived in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, and Virginia. Soon, I’ll probably be moving again. Sure, there are people who’ve moved way more than me, but I like to pull up roots and relocate every so often. It can be something of a pain in the butt to move all your stuff, but I feel like it’s one of the most important things that has changed me as a person. If you’re longing for some new scenery, interested in meeting different types of people, or are looking to find out more about what you love and what you don’t, the path of relocation can guide you towards greater insight as to who you really are. Find out more after the jump.

Moving is a big ole pain in the behind, so we’ll take anything that makes the process even a tiny bit more manageable. That’s why we’ll be picking up some of this room-specific packing tape next time we switch apartments. Instead of scrawling labels on moving boxes (not so helpful if your handwriting’s illegible), just seal them up with the designated roll of tape. You’ll know where to put every single box. Or rather, you’ll know where to tell the movers to put every single box. [from $2.95, U-Haul via KK]

Why is moving so hard? Well, for starters, it’s the third most stressful event in a person’s life, behind divorce and death. Really! Perhaps it’s because moving happens unexpectedly sometimes (you or your significant other are relocated for work, for example.) Maybe the fear of the unknown gets us in the gut—what’s it like there? who will my friends be?—that we can’t seem to move through it. And then there’s the solitude. Even if you are moving with a partner, you just don’t expect to feel so lonely when you arrive in the new place.

I posted earlier about chopping off seven inches of hair after finally deciding that my break was not a breakup. While a cliche, it was a defining moment that signified my new perspective on the future. Luckily, as many of you so kindly pointed out, it turned out to look good too. (I swear, I didn’t post the before and after photos in a desperate search for compliments, but I sure do appreciate them!) But as some of you pointed out in the comments, the MAJOR haircut is not the only action many women take post-breakup. After the jump, five other major changes and steps women often make in their quest to get over a broken heart and start a new phase in life.

There was a period in my early twenties, not too long after college graduation, and even sooner after the painful break-up of my first real relationship, that I hopscotched through a series of dead-end jobs (seven in four months!), dated recklessly, and pumped my body with substances I wouldn’t clean a carburetor with these days. Then, one day, perusing the self-help aisle in Borders, I came across a book on the “quarterlife crisis.” I picked it up, found a comfy chair in the back of the store, and skimmed enough pages to understand there was a name for what I was going through, a phase, and it was just a matter of time before I’d move past it.

Sienna Miller supposedly is putting her London home on the market because she has too many memories in it—both with her most recent boyfriend, Rhys Ifans, and with Jude Law. This got us to thinking—would we move if a live-in boyfriend moved out?

Moving is not the most fun activity in the world. It’s less fun than going to the dentist. Less fun than getting delayed at the airport. Less fun than filing taxes. I am moving in approximately 14 days, but watching this little video (scroll to the bottom of the page), is making me a little more excited about it. Have you ever dated someone who lived in your building? I haven’t. And I actually don’t think it would be a good idea to even consider, because there are only four apartments in my new building. Sure, it would be convenient, but if it didn’t work out, I would probably have to move again. [SKForlee.com]